When Antoan Richardson was ejected, that allowed Alyssa Nakken to make history during the Giants-Padres game on Tuesday night.
SAN FRANCISCO -- It's rare that a first base coach gets ejected, particularly when he's not even coaching first at the time, but it happened Tuesday night at Oracle Park. That led to another historic moment for Alyssa Nakken.
First base coach Antoan Richardson was ejected by crew chief Greg Gibson in the top of the third inning as he tried to give directions to Giants fielders from the edge of the dugout. When the Giants hit in the bottom of the inning, Nakken took Richardson's place in the first base box, becoming the first woman to ever coach on the field during an MLB game.
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This was not the first time over there for Nakken, the first woman hired to a big league coaching staff. During exhibition games in 2020, manager Gabe Kapler had Nakken replace Richardson and Mark Hallberg replace Ron Wotus at third base.
Hallberg has since become the full-time third base coach, and the Giants believe Nakken could easily take on a similar role down the line. Kapler has put more and more on her plate in the last couple of seasons, and Nakken has since been joined by a growing collection of female coaches in the minors.
When she coached first in 2020, Nakken said she had a hard time wrapping her head around the moment.
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"I always prepared and stayed ready for whatever position I would be put in," Nakken said back then. "We talked about this opportunity before and it kind of came up quick and I was ready to go. It's an awesome feeling to be out there. All camp I've gotten a chance to really work with the players a lot more, especially on the baserunning front. You feel a sense of pride to be out there. For me, personally, it's the best place to watch a game, that's for sure."
RELATED: How Nakken has been embraced by other women in MLB
Nakken was immediately greeted by Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer. She got hugs and congratulations as she returned to the Giants dugout, and before her second inning as an on-field coach, home plate umpire Chris Guccione ran over to shake her hand.
